


Something In the Snowy Air

by castiel_lightwood



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, beginner snowboarder!dean, destiel!au, instructor!cas, snowboarding!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 23:49:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3430115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castiel_lightwood/pseuds/castiel_lightwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean finally agrees to go on a skiing holiday with his brother Sam and his wife Jess, but to avoid embarrassing himself, he opts to do snowboarding instead of skiing. His instructor Cas is gorgeous and funny and they both struggle to keep their relationship as professional as it should be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something In the Snowy Air

Sam had almost cheered when Dean finally agreed to go on a skiing holiday with Jess and himself. Dean had put it off for as long as possible - he didn’t see the attraction of falling over constantly or standing in long queues before throwing yourself down a vertical cliff face.

He was starting to regret it more and more, even though they’d agreed to all his terms. He refused to fly and insisted that they drove all the way to the resort, which annoyed Sam because it was a ridiculous waste of time and also because as there was only three of them, it meant that one person had to sit in the backseat. But Jess had managed to talk Sam round and he’d finally consented, as long as Dean allowed him to drive part of the journey.

Dean hadn’t wanted to be shown up by Sam and Jess’s skiing ability - they’d been skiing together a number of years now, and Jess had been going since she was a child. So he’d opted to try snowboarding instead, despite Sam telling him that it was much harder to do. Sam didn’t know everything.

The boots felt strange, although they seemed to hurt much less than Sam and Jess’s ski boots. However, as much as he felt that he looked the part with his black jacket and red trousers, he’d never felt more out of place as he walked to the ski school - or snowboard school for him. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing - even the tiny kids were more natural on the snow than he was.

He’d booked four days of private lessons - if he hadn’t got it in that time, he was giving up. Although just looking at the board was making him uneasy. Was it meant to be like that? Were the foot holds too far apart?

His lesson was at 10am, but he’d got there twenty minutes early because he didn’t want to be late. At ten to ten, he was really starting to regret his decision. At five to, he was so close to running away. He didn’t want this, why was he even here -  
A figure in the red ski school uniform was walking towards him carrying a snowboard. He couldn’t leave now. He was trapped.

The man - Dean could see it was a man now - had his goggles flipped up off his face and he was smiling. “Dean Winchester?” his tone was friendly as he extended a mitten clad hand.

“That’s me,” Dean replied, his returning smile slightly uneasy.

“Its great to meet you, Dean. I’m Cas.” 

“Nice to meet you too Cas.” The guy seemed nice enough.

“So you have never snow boarded before?” Dean shook his head. “Skateboarding? Surfing?” Dean began to feel more uneasy every time he shook his head. But Cas tried to calm him down, clearly seeing his panic. “Don’t worry, its completely fine. At least you don’t have anything to get confused with.”

Cas took him through a few warm up exercises - he was taught how to fall safely, how to move with one foot in the binding, how to bend his legs properly and what posture to have. They hadn’t even started boarding properly and already Dean felt like this had to be completely boring for Cas. But he was calm and polite and praised Dean when he finally managed to glide about three metres without falling over.

When they moved onto actually standing on the board and moving down a slight slope, Dean nearly gave up there and then. He couldn’t stand up and gratefully took Cas’s offered hands. He’d taken his board off so he had extra stability for helping Dean.

“Find the edge,” Cas told him. “Press through your heels, that’s right, now hold that, feel the posture and the pressure, try and remember how it feels.” Dean was amazed that he’d even managed to stand up and nearly fell over in shock. Only Cas’s hands kept him upright. “Okay, we’re going to start moving downhill slowly on the heel edge, nothing to worry about, I’ve got you, just gently release the weight from the heels and the reapply it, but gently, gently,” Dean managed to travel about ten centimeters before Cas said “if you watch the tip of the board, you’ll end up falling over. Try and focus on something ahead of you.” Dean’s eyes flicked up and back down again. “Your feet aren’t going anywhere,” Cas’s voice was calm and soft. “Look up, look at me.”

Dean’s gaze rose to meet Cas’s, and his was hit with how gorgeous the other man’s eyes were. They were bright blue, shining with both encouragement and also from the reflection from the snow. They were radiant pools and Dean had never seen anything so beautiful. Which is why he fell forward in shock and nearly landed flat on his face.

Cas’s arms caught him, propping him upright. “You okay?” Dean nodded, unable to speak. “You’ll get it, don’t worry. The first few lessons are always the hardest.”

They tried again, and Dean managed not to fall over, although he was unable to fully meet Cas’s gaze. When they swapped to the toe edge, Cas was stood slightly above him, which meant that Dean could stare at his helmet strap instead of his eyes or his face. 

The lesson ended far too soon for Dean’s liking - he felt that he was just getting the hang of it. Cas told him to practise what they’d done but not to push it too much as it would all come with time.

When Dean met Sam and Jess at lunch, they asked him how his lesson went. He blushed and then Sam asked him which of the hot instructors he’d got. Dean had avoided that question by nearly choking on his bread.

He was happy that they were staying in a hotel because cooking was always a problem when it was the three of them together. Dean liked to cook. Jess liked to cook. Sam liked to help out because otherwise he felt bad for not doing anything. So whenever they went away together or went to stay at each others’ houses they all ended up crowding into one kitchen all trying to cook around each other. It didn’t work and normally ended with someone being banished to sit down at the table while dinner was eventually cooked.

Dean went out to practise after lunch, wanting to improve for himself, but also to prove to Sam and Jess that he could snowboard. And also, as a tiny part of his brain told him, so that he could please Cas the following day with how much better he’d got.

-

The next day, Cas grinned as he saw how much Dean had improved. “You practised a lot yesterday?” Cas asked him when Dean reached him after his third run. He hadn’t fallen over once, even though he had gone quite slowly.

Dean shrugged. “Just a little bit,” he replied, but he couldn’t hide his grin.  
“Well, we can probably try the bigger slope now - we’ll go nice and slowly, don’t worry. But I think you’ll get more out of going on there than staying here.”

Cas showed him how to put the bar between his legs and how to stand sideways so that he wouldn’t fall over. The lift was quiet, so when Dean fell over after he hit a groove in the snow, Cas didn’t mind sliding back down to the start of the lift and trying again.

“Its a bit strange to start with, but you’ll get the hang of it,” Cas reassured him as Dean stared at the lift with trepidation. “Here, we’ll try it together.”

Cas helped Dean onto one side of the bar and then hopped onto the other. He kept one hand on the pole in front and the other went onto Dean’s back. Dean’s hand tightened onto Cas’s coat - he was determined not to fall off this time.

It was so much easier with someone else to add stability. If Dean fell forward slightly, Cas was there to prop him back up again. They made it to the top easily but Cas gave Dean longer than he needed to strap his other foot back in - he had to make sure that Dean wasn’t traumatised by the lift.

The next time up, Dean was still busy concentrating on staying on the lift. However, by their fifth run up he was much more confident and wasn’t worried about falling off anymore.

Cas must have noticed because he started talking to him on the lift - previously they’d gone up in comfortable silence.

“So this is your first time doing any kind of snow sport?” Cas asked him.

Dean looked down self consciously. “Yeah. My brother and his wife have been trying to get me to come away with them for years and I guess I finally gave in.”

“Its not that bad,” Cas laughed.

Dean shrugged. “I’ve just never seen the attraction of it before.”

They’d reached the top of the run again and by the time they reached the bottom again - Dean was just getting the hang of turning both ways without falling over, although he was no way near as smooth as Cas - he’d forgotten about their conversation.

“So you’re here alone then? No girlfriend, boyfriend..?” Cas trailed off but his tone stayed light and friendly.

Dean shook his head. “No, nothing like that.” He glanced at Cas. He was pretty gorgeous, even in a ski helmet and jacket which enveloped most of his body. “What about you?”

Cas laughed, and Dean thought it might have been the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. “Nothing like that for me either. Never have.”

“Really? How?” How had no one else realised how gorgeous Cas was?

Cas smiled ruefully. “I guess when you and all the people your age stay in the small town where you grew up, no one really wants to date anyone. You remember each other through that awkward teenage phase.”

“Why don’t you move then?” Dean was amazed that Cas could be so lonely and put up with it.

“But I love it here. The mountains are my home. And I love teaching and meeting new people all the time. And I’m not that lonely, don’t worry.”

“Would you move?” Dean asked, not sure if he was being too intrusive.

Thankfully Cas answered his question anyway. “Maybe. For the right person.”

On the next run down, Dean managed to link two turns together and nearly fell over from shock. Cas cheered him when they reached the bottom, his grin lighting up his face.

Dean asked him on the lift up what he got out of watching other people making painfully slow improvements.

Cas seemed genuinely surprised. “Your improvements are huge, Dean. Some people don’t get this far by the end of the week.”

Dean didn’t believe him but he didn’t want to argue and get Cas distracted. He wanted an answer to his question.

“I guess I like seeing someone go from nothing to something. No matter how much they improve or how slowly, they always get better. Its just practise. I don’t think there are many jobs where that happens.”

Dean didn’t get chance to think that through on his next run down, and then it was the end of his lesson. He mulled over it at lunchtime, before going out to practise again. Cas had told him that if he could link most of his turns without falling over by tomorrow then they could go on the longer runs. Dean wanted to do it for himself but increasingly for Cas too.

That night at dinner Sam joked about how Dean must be trying to impress someone with the amount of effort he was putting into his snowboarding, although Dean could tell that both he and Jess were very pleased with how much he was getting out of this holiday.

-

The next morning, Cas took Dean on a chairlift for the first time. They got on it safely, but Cas got worried by Dean’s death tight grip on the safety bar.  
“Dean, you okay?”

His eyes were squeezed shut. “Don’t. Like. Heights.” He gritted out.

“Oh.” Cas rested a hand on his arm. “Its okay, don’t worry. We’re not that far from the ground, and you’re not going to fall off. You’re okay, its all okay.” Cas kept up a constant stream of comforting words until they reached the top, where he took hold of Dean’s coat and half pulled, half guided him off the lift.

Dean sat down and put his head between his knees. Cas took his board off and crouched down next to him. It took Dean a few minutes to realise that Cas was asking him if he was okay.

He nodded and then shook his head. He didn’t know. He just didn’t want to go on one of those things again.

“I’m sorry,” Cas was saying to him. “I should have checked with you first.”

Dean shook his head, because this wasn’t Cas’s fault. It was his for being so weak.

Once he’d had a good fifteen minutes to recover, Cas took him to some quieter slopes that thankfully just had t-bar lifts.

Within the next half hour, Dean finally found his confidence. He found himself smiling as he managed a whole run without stopping or falling over.

Cas stopped him halfway down the next run. “We’re going to have a race now.”

Cas laughed at Dean’s horrified expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll give myself some different rules. I’ll give you a thirty second headstart and I’ll be boarding with my weaker foot forward.”

Dean nodded, although he was still certain that Cas would be able to beat him blindfolded with one leg missing.

“Go whenever you’re ready.” Cas sat down on the snow with an air of casualness. Dean wasn’t fooled.

He took a deep breath and set off. It was harder to concentrate when he was thinking about Cas as well, but he tried his hardest to think about his own boarding and not fall over.

He was almost at the bottom and there was still no sign of Cas. On his next turn, he risked a glance up hill. Cas was still sat down watching him. Dean frowned and turned back round. Had it all just been a ruse? Was Cas not actually going to race him at all?

Then he heard the soft rumble of snow under moving weight, and he watched on his next turn as Cas came down the slope towards him. He was doing turns but he had to be going at least double Dean’s speed. Dean tried to concentrate on himself but it was hard with the rapidly approaching sound of Cas’s board behind him.

He was almost at the bottom of the slope, just one more turn - and then a red figure passed him in his peripheral vision. He nearly fell over in shock but managed to stay on his feet. Cas grinned at him from just below where he was waiting. “I win!” he called as Dean reached him.

Dean must have pouted because Cas suddenly turned serious. “I promise you, after you’ve been boarding for twenty two years like I have, you’ll be able to beat me.”

“Twenty two years?!” That sounded like an awfully long time.

“You might get it quicker than me,” Cas told him as he pulled a packet out of his coat. “But you deserve a reward for how well you’ve done.” He offered Dean a bag of gummy bear sweets. Dean stared at him. “I normally teach little kids,” Cas explained. “They need sugar every few hours or they get really tired.”

Dean took a handful and chewed, staring round the slope. The mountains really were beautiful. There was only the two of them and an expanse of white, broken by dark greens and craggy grey rocks. It was awe inspiring.  
He turned back to Cas, who was watching him thoughtfully, chewing his own sweets. He swallowed. “Should we go?”

Dean nodded, unable to speak because Cas fitted so perfectly into this picture, and he didn’t think it would be half as beautiful without Cas in it.

-

The next day was Dean’s final lesson with Cas. He didn’t want to leave. He’d got the basic technique but he still felt there was a lot to improve on.

Cas picked him up and they set off - but didn’t use the chairlift. Dean would never go on one of those again for as long as he lived. Cas went down a run first and waited for Dean about half way down so he could watch.

Dean set off, enjoying the gentle slide of the board down the slope, the gradual increase in speed and the slight deceleration on each turn. Snowboarding was awesome once you got past the falling over stage.

Cas was watching him, and although Dean couldn’t see his face very clearly, he could tell that he was grinning.

Dean was halfway to Cas when suddenly a group of kids came snaking round from a different slope, following another red clad figure. The instructor stopped next to Cas and the kids lined up beneath them. Cas gestured for Dean to come down to him and he turned to talk to the kids.

When Dean got closer he realised that the instructor was a woman and that she was smiling at Cas in a way that made Dean think that at least one person didn’t think less of Cas for his awkward teenage years. Cas was talking to her and then he began talking to the kids, who replied enthusiastically to his questions, whatever they were. He pulled out his packet of sweets and offered them round, and for some reason Dean suddenly went cold.

This was just a job to Cas. No matter how nice he was to Dean, how much he smiled or praised him, or acted as if he was interested in Dean’s life, it was all just because Dean was paying him. Next week there would be another person to teach, or a different group of kids for Cas to offer sweets to.

Dean stopped next to Cas and was unable to match Cas’s smile. The other instructor - Anna, he read from her name badge - asked Dean how he was getting on and all he could do was nod. He felt sick - he wondered if he’d actually be able to board after this.

Cas set off down the mountain first, beckoning for Dean to follow him. He showed off by adding turns and tiny jumps to his route down - and Dean could barely keep up with him. At least he didn’t fall over. Maybe he was getting good this snowboard thing after all.

At the lift, Cas explained to Dean that he was going to help Anna get her kids on the lift and then they were going to follow them up. He asked if that was okay with him but Dean didn’t feel like he had much of a choice.

Some of the kids in Anna’s group were pretty good. Others couldn’t control their speed at all and ended up overtaking the people in front. Cas laughed. “Private lessons are so much easier.”

When they all reached the bottom, Anna sorted the kids into twos and asked Cas to make sure they got through the barrier properly. Dean stood with him, listening to the constant excited chatter. No wonder Cas prefered kids. He was so boring.

Only a couple of them fell off and Anna had them slide back down to start again. “Do you want me to take one up?” Cas called over to her but she shook her head.

“I’ve got something to talk to you about actually. Would you mind..?”

The last of the kids had gone now and Cas turned to Dean. “Do you mind going up by yourself?” His tone was regretful, but Dean didn’t know what was real and what was an act anymore.

“Sure, go ahead.” Dean tried to smile.

He let the two instructors go first, telling them that he could get on a lift without help and that they needn’t worry about him. Regardless, Cas watched him get on, and when he was successful, he turned away.

Dean was thinking he should have gone first. Because now he could watch them both. The tilt of their heads towards each other, the easy laughter floating down to him, the gentle pressure of Anna’s hand against Cas’s arm on the pole.

Dean had never felt jealousy like it. Maybe Cas did want Anna. Maybe he’d said half of those things just to make a point but didn’t mean any of them.

They left Anna’s group at the top as they were working their way in opposite directions round the mountain.

Dean didn’t laugh, smile, anything to Cas’s words. He barely heard them at all.  
“Dean, are you okay?” Cas knelt down in front of him.

“I -” he nearly told Cas there and then, but he wasn’t a girl. He didn’t need to talk about his feelings. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? Because you’ve been a bit out ever since we met Anna’s group.”

Dean shook his head. “Its nothing.”

Cas let out an impatient huff, but he didn’t press Dean further.

However when they reached the next lift and Dean hesitated to get on with him, Cas took him over to the side, letting other people go first.

“Dean, please tell me what I’ve done wrong.” Cas’s voice was soft but his eyes were insistent.

“I -” Dean didn’t know how to say it and maintain the relationship they had. Cas was a professional, and he was his client. It was wrong for him to have any sort of romantic notions.

“Seeing Anna…” he trailed off.

“Yes?”

“It made me realise that this is just a job for you. And its not even the one that you enjoy most.”

Cas was speechless. After a few moments he said, his tone edged with anger. “You think that I don’t enjoy your lessons? How can you even think that?” Dean opened his mouth but Cas interrupted him. “If I told you that this was the best week I’ve ever had would you believe me?” Dean watched him with shocked eyes. “That was what Anna wanted to talk to me about. She wanted to know why I was so happy. She’s never seen me this happy, Dean. Ever.”

Dean shook his head. “What does that mean?”

"You make me happy," Cas said simply. "I don’t know why really. I just know that I look forward to your lessons more than anything else at the moment."

"Cas…" He trailed off, unable to think of what to say.

"Its not often that I get on so well with someone. Yes, to an extent what I do is an act. But not with you," he smiled softly at Dean. "Never with you. That’s why Anna was so surprised. She could tell I was genuinely happy."

"Oh," was all Dean could think to say. He glanced at the lift which was still going round and round. "Do you, er, think we should go?"

"Hmm?" Cas looked round. "Oh right, yeah, probably." Dean had never seen Cas so out of control. He was always so calm, so collected, so completely sure of what they were doing. He found it strangely endearing.

They were silent for the first part of the lift up, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Then Dean glanced up at Cas and found the other man watching him. He raised an eyebrow.

Cas smiled shyly, “you’re not mad at me?”

"How could I be?"

"I’m not exactly being the most professional right now. Talking about feelings and all that."

"I don’t mind," Dean admitted honestly. He felt much better now that Cas had explained to him. But it still didn’t get rid of the look Anna had had on her face when she’d looked at Cas.

"So you and Anna, there’s nothing there?" He was tentative, not wanting to upset Cas.

To Dean’s surprise, Cas grinned. “All the kids that we’ve ever taught have thought that we’re together. Or that we should be. Either way, no. Anna’s just a friend.”

Dean nodded but he didn’t think that Anna felt the same as Cas. He’d seen that look far too often. Clearly Cas was just blind.

"You okay to board now?" Cas asked him.

"Why wouldn’t I be?" Dean smiled.

"Just checking. Got to make sure you’re okay."

They got off the lift and Cas took him down several more runs, praising his technique and how far he’d come within the last four days. Dean realised that nothing had changed from how Cas had treated him in the previous days, except now he knew that this was Cas at his happiest. He found himself grinning and didn’t even mind when he caught the edge of his board on a bank of snow and tripped, landing in a flurry of snow at Cas’s feet.

He heaved himself into a sitting position, laughing. Cas was watching him warily, and then his mouth twitched into a smile. Once he’d realised that Dean wasn’t concussed, he joined in laughing, because it was contagious. They slipped easily back into their routine after that, chatting on the lifts about everything and nothing.

Cas brought up Dean’s fear of heights and asked how he’d got to the resort because he clearly hadn’t flown. Unless he’d be drugged. Dean had tried not to smile at that. Cas was joking with him. He liked it.

"We drove. It took us the best part of a day, but it was worth it."

"You drove? All the way here? What car do you have, a tank or something?"

Dean shook his head. “She’s a 1967 Chevy Impala.”

Cas nodded. “I have a car with snow chains if that’s any competition.”

"Not even close." Dean smiled.

-

At the end of his lesson, Dean toyed nervously with the strap on his board binding. This was the last of his lessons with Cas. But he didn’t want them to end. Not ever. He wanted to spend every minute with this beautiful funny man.

"Cas…" his instructor looked at him, almost hopefully. "Would there be any chance of, um, more lessons?"

"You think you need them?" Cas was slightly surprised but he smiled anyway.

"I’d like them," Dean told him. "And I’m sure there’s still more that I can learn…" Maybe Cas didn’t want to teach him. Maybe his schedule was full. Maybe -

"I have ski lessons with kids in the mornings but I’m free in the afternoons. If that’s any good for you -"

"Please," Dean cut in probably too quickly but Cas smiled.

"I’ll see you at… 2:30 tomorrow then?"

-

Dean was in high spirits that night, and Sam and Jess could tell. They joined in his laughter and smiles and jokes, because they were both having a great week too. They agreed to come with Dean the following morning now that he’d got the hang of getting down a slope safely and relatively quickly. 

He saw Cas that morning with a group of his students and for a moment Dean was worried that he was going to ignore him, but Cas looked up at him and waved. Dean waved back and managed not to fall over. Sam grinned but said nothing.

They met after lunch and Cas took Dean to the snow park with the jumps and rails. He explained to Dean how each of the features worked and the theory behind using them. They tried the smallest jumps a couple of times and Dean was amazed that he didn’t fall over. Cas showed off by going on the narrow railing and Dean rolled his eyes, but really he didn’t mind. Afterwards, Cas took Dean onto some harder runs, and Dean was amazed that he didn’t fall over. Cas asked Dean at the top of a run if he’d be okay going on another chairlift, and he closed his eyes as he asked how high it was. Cas pointed it out to him - it was only a short one, thank God, so he might survive it…

On the lift, Cas sat on the outside seat with Dean next to him. He blindly grabbed for the railing with his hands, but Cas wordlessly offered him his own hand. He hesitated and then took it, gripping his fingers far too tightly, but Cas didn’t complain once. They didn’t talk about it, even as Cas filled the endless minutes with mindless chatter.

That night, Dean was gripped with a sudden panic. Tomorrow was their last day on the mountain. The day after, they were leaving. And he’d never see Cas again. He couldn’t imagine his life without those gorgeous blue eyes, that beautiful laugh. But what could he do?

-

They went back to the snowpark the following day, and Dean nearly fell over due to the knot in his stomach. He didn’t want to leave. When Cas offered him his hand on the chairlifts, he took it without thought. True, their hands were separated by thick gloves, but it didn’t stop it from being as intimate as they were ever going to get. Cas was so comforting, so grounding. Dean didn’t know how he’d have managed at all that week without him.

Dean proposed another race, and Cas grinned at him. “Same rules this time though,” Dean told him. “I don’t need you to baby me.”

"You know I was the slalom champion when I was nineteen?" Cas teased him.

"That was years ago now, I bet you’ve lost it." Dean saw the challenge rise up in Cas’s eyes and he loved it. He knew he had no chance against Cas, but that wasn’t the point. He wanted to see him go flat out, he wanted to see exactly how good Cas was when he wasn’t holding back.

Surprisingly, Cas let Dean keep pace for the first part of the slope. Then with a sudden wild grin, Cas took off. Dean came to a stuttering stop as he saw just how amazing he was - his movement was so fluid, the way he controlled the board as it cut through the snow, the sheer speed; it was exhilarating just to watch. Cas reached the bottom and turned, surprised to see Dean still half way up the slope. He cocked his head to one side, confused, and Dean rode down to meet him.

"That was incredible," Dean breathed out, breathless on Cas’s behalf. Cas flushed, embarrassed and looked down.

Dean smiled. “So twenty two years, huh? And then I’ll be that amazing?”

Cas shook his head, grinning. “No, You’re going to be so much better than that.”

-

Dean didn’t know how to leave Cas. He didn’t want to. And neither, it seemed, did Cas. For the first time ever, Cas was tongue tied. He kicked the snow at his feet, unable to meet Dean’s eyes.

He suddenly had an idea. “Cas.”

"Yes?" Cas’s eyes flitted up.

"You want to… go get a drink?" Dean wasn’t sure if he was allowed. "To… say thank you. For such an amazing week."

Cas’s grin was so radiant Dean was nearly blinded. “You wouldn’t mind?”

"I’d love to."

Cas glanced at his watch. “If we go now, you’ll miss your last few hours on the slopes…” he trailed off uncertainly.

"I don’t mind at all." I’d rather spend those hours with you, he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. Not when he’d be leaving Cas tomorrow.

Cas pointed to one of the bars on the side of the slope. “This is one of the best in town. Have you been in yet?”

Dean shook his head. “Too tired to go out drinking this week.”

Cas laughed. “Yeah, I suppose I’m used to it.” He gestured for Dean to go with him and they fell into step easily, putting their boards on the racks outside the bar and stepping inside.

It was busy - clearly this was where everyone came to drink. Dean spotted Anna on one of the tables and she waved at Cas, but he shook his head. He turned away, but Dean saw her face fall. Yes, Cas was definitely blind when it came to her.

They managed to find an empty table, and they took off their helmets and coats. It was only then that Dean realised how gorgeous Cas was. His hair was mussed up from being inside a helmet all day, and he tried to flatten it down when he caught Dean grinning it at. But the bright blue of his eyes was made even more striking by his dark hair and tanned skin. From the fit of his top, he was fairly muscular too - but naturally, from years of exercise and life in the outdoors, rather than from pressing weights in gyms and taking protein shakes.

Dean flushed when he realised that Cas was studying him too - he knew that his freckles became even more pronouned when he’d been out in the sun, but that didn’t account for Cas clearly trying to memorise the patterns of freckles on his face. He pulled out his wallet in an attempt to distract him. “What can I get you then?”

Cas frowned. “You don’t have to buy me a drink.”

"Yes I do. I want to." He repeated his question, and Cas couldn’t help but smile at the stubborn set of Dean’s jaw.

"Beer’s good." Dean nodded and went to get the drinks, but Cas caught his wrist gently. "Ask for the house special. Its the best." Dean nodded again, and Cas let him go.

When Dean came back with two beers and slipped back into his seat, his phone went off. It was Sam ringing him to ask where he was. He glanced at Cas and mouthed if it would be okay if Sam and Jess joined them. Cas nodded - it was no problem to him. Dean smiled and told Sam the bar they were in.

By the time Sam and Jess reached them, Cas and Dean were onto their second beers. Cas was laughing far too hard at a lame joke Dean had just told him, and Dean was trying not to choke on his own beer as he joined in the contagious laughter.

"Don’t kill yourself," came a familiar amused voice from behind him. Dean turned to Sam, and saw Jess coming through the door behind him. He gestured at Cas, who was managing to hold a straight face by some will of a higher power. "Sam, Jess, this is Cas."

Even Sam was struck dumb by seeing Cas for the first time. Dean was slightly smug that his instructor was so gorgeous, and he grinned at their reactions. Sam held out his hand once he’d recovered slightly. “Nice to meet you.”

"And you," Cas shook his hand and held his hand out to Jess. "Its nice to meet you too."

She smiled, and nudged Dean. “We’re not all going to fit round this table.”

Dean waved a hand dismissively and moved so that he was sat on the bench next to Cas. Sam dragged another chair over - probably the last free one in the whole bar - and then they were all sat down, Dean finishing his beer so that Sam would be inclined to buy him one along with Jess’s and his own. Sam rolled his eyes. “Can I get you anything else Cas? Since I’m going to be buying my brother another one.”

Cas grinned, and Dean realised how close he was. Hell, they were nearly sat on each other, the bench was so small. “I’ll have whatever you’ll buy me, I really don’t mind.”

Sam asked Jess what she wanted and kissed her softly before going up to the bar to order. Jess turned to Cas. “So you’ve been teaching Dean? You’ve done an amazing job.”

Cas smiled. “The reason he’s done so well is all down to him, I assure you.”

"That’s not true," Dean protested. "It would have taken me years to figure it all out by myself."

Cas shrugged, their eyes meeting across the incredibly close space. “Maybe not that long. Of course, you should learn to ski now too.”

Dean groaned and Sam grinned as he returned with their drinks. “He won’t ski because he doesn’t want to get shown up by me,” he informed Cas, passing his drink over.

"Thanks Sammy," Dean grumbled, which Cas found adorable. He couldn’t resist teasing Dean further. "Maybe one day you’ll be able to beat me at skiing too."

"He can beat you at snowboarding?" Jess frowned with disbelief.

Cas grinned and shook his head. “No, but one day he will.”

"That’s not likely to happen," Dean scoffed. "Since I’m sat next to the what, the snowboard slalom champion?"

"Dean," Cas grumbled and bumped his side reproachfully. They both missed Sam and Jess’s grins at their playful teasing.

The talk moved away from skiing and snowboarding and onto other things: Sam and Dean’s childhood antics, Cas’s car (Sam backed him up saying that it was definitely just as cool as an impala, which made Dean pout until Jess bought him a whiskey), the kids Jess taught at school and the funny things they said to her from time to time. Dean saw Cas’s face soften as Jess talked about children - despite what he’d said to Dean, Cas clearly loved teaching kids. Not that Dean minded that anymore.

He wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but Cas’s arm ended up round Dean’s waist. They were sat so close together that it probably wasn’t obvious - no, the smug look in Sam’s eyes meant that it was definitely obvious. Well Dean didn’t care. He shuffled closer to Cas, his hand taking Cas’s other one which was resting on his knee under the table. It felt so comfortable that Dean never wanted to move. Which probably explained why he ended up dropping his head onto Cas’s shoulder when Jess went to get the next round of drinks.

It was the perfect evening, although it ended far too soon. They three of them had to go back to pack, and Cas needed to leave to get sleep before his lessons the following day. Which he might possibly be hung over for.

Dean chickened out of kissing him goodbye, and opted instead for a quick one on Cas’s cheek. He whispered goodnight and walked away before he did something stupid.

-

The next morning, Dean was in a foul mood as he packed the car up. He should have just kissed Cas properly. Why hadn’t he? And he didn’t have any way of contacting him now. He hadn’t got his number, his email, anything. He was useless.

The car was packed and Sam was already in. They were just waiting for Jess to hand in the room keys and then they were leaving. Dean felt physically sick. He was never going to see Cas again -

"Dean?"

He had to be dreaming. Maybe his hangover was making him hallucinate now. He turned when the voice called his name again.

Cas was stood a few metres away, watching him nervously. Dean’s breath caught in his throat - Cas was only wearing jeans and a light sweater, he had to be freezing. His hair was sticking up at all angles and Dean fought the urgh to smooth it down.

"Cas?" He could hardly believe this was happening.

Cas ran a hand through his hair nervously. “I meant to say something to you last night, and then…” And then Dean had screwed up. He wanted to look away but he couldn’t waste the last few moments he’d spend with Cas. “I wanted to catch you before you left, but then I realised that I didn’t actually know what an impala was, and then I didn’t know your hotel or anything, or when you were leaving -” Cas was babbling, scuffing the ground anxiously.

"What it is, Cas?" Dean said softly. Then almost as if he couldn’t help himself, Cas closed the gap between them. He toyed with a piece of paper in his hands. "I didn’t know what you’d want, or even if you’d want anything, or if this would make it better or worse," he paused to take a deep breath. "And it probably highly unprofessional but I didn’t want you to leave without some way of getting in touch with me. If you want." He held out the paper. Dean glanced at it numbly. It had Cas’s phone number, email and facebook written down on it.

"I just…" Cas cleared his throat. "I don’t want you to leave."

"Neither do I," Dean replied softly. He glanced at the last set of details on the page. An address. He looked up at Cas questioningly.

Cas coughed again. “In case you want to come and visit me some time.”

"For more lessons?" Dean asked, trying to tease but was unable to. There was too much resting on this answer.

"If you want. Or… we could try something different."

"Something different sounds good." Dean croaked out. He reached for Cas, pulling him towards him by his fleece and hugged him tightly. He didn’t want to lose this, this comforting presence that Cas provided him with. It was as easy and as natural as breathing to be around him, and he never wanted this to stop. How had he only known Cas for six days?

He pulled back ever so slightly, his eyes searching Cas’s blue ones before they slipped to his lips and flicked back up again. Their lips came together then, finally, and it was as amazing as Dean had imagined. Cas tasted of snow and the mountains and he was warm despite the cold air. Dean’s fingers ran through Cas’s hair as Cas’s hands held onto the front of Dean’s coat, pulling them closer together.

They pulled apart, breathless. Their foreheads rested together. Dean smiled softly. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

Cas brought their lips together for one final kiss and it sealed the promise between them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This fic is quite long compared to my normal one-shots, so thank you if you managed to read it all! all my knowledge of skiing is based on European holidays so I'm sorry for inaccuracies if it is very different in America.
> 
> (also I suck at thinking of titles I'm sorry)


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